Cash Cows

Jay-Z, Beyonce & More Celebrity Obama Fundraisers (PHOTOS)

Cash Cows

Jay-Z, Beyonce & More Celebrity Obama Fundraisers (PHOTOS)

Jay-Z and Beyoncé are planning a $40,000-a-head dinner for President Obama at the rapper’s Manhattan club on Sept. 18. From George Clooney to Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker, see more of Obama’s biggest star boosters.

06.14.12 8:45 AM ET

Jay-Z and Beyoncé are planning a $40,000-a-head dinner for President Obama at the rapper’s Manhattan club on Sept. 18. From George Clooney to Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker, see more of Obama’s biggest star boosters.

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Jay-Z and Beyoncé

The king and queen of Hollywood might be outdoing even Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker’s fundraising efforts. On Sept. 18, the celebrity duo will host 100 guests who will pay $40,000 each to dine with the couple and President Obama at Jay-Z’s 40/40 club in Manhattan. Beyoncé and Jay-Z haven’t been shy about their support of President Obama—and the feeling is mutual. In an interview with The Atlantic, Obama said he preferred Jay-Z to Kanye West. Jay-Z returned the love a month later, telling CNN that Obama is “leaps and bounds” better than Mitt Romney and praising the president’s stance on gay marriage. Beyoncé and Michelle Obama teamed up last year to promote the first lady’s campaign against childhood obesity. They later took their admiration for each other to the Internet—the singer posted a letter and a video dedicated to the first lady on her website. Michelle responded via Twitter, praising Beyoncé for being a positive role model.

Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images

Sarah Jessica Parker and Anna Wintour

Anna Wintour may seem like the busiest women in media, but she’s able to fit fundraising for Obama into her schedule. This time, she’s teaming up with actress Sarah Jessica Parker to host a fundraising dinner for the president’s reelection campaign. SJP opened her West Village home to New York’s wealthy and fabulous—and two lucky commoners—on Thursday. The dinner took in about $2 million from 50 guests who each paid $40,000 each. In addition to Parker and Wintour, the guest list also included actress Meryl Streep and fashion designer Michael Kors. Parker and Wintour are so dedicated, they also appeared in campaign ads for the president—sparking criticism from the Romney campaign. But, as The Daily Beast’s Ben Jacobs points out, luring donors with raffles has become the norm in this election cycle, and Mitt’s even guilty of auctioning off a dinner with another wealthy New Yorker—Donald Trump.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo

Obama and Ricky Martin

Singer Ricky Martin shared the stage with President Obama at a fundraiser in New York City on Monday afternoon. Two hundred donors paid at least $5,000 each to attend the gathering, which was co-hosted by the LGBT Leadership Council and the Futuro Fund. In his remarks, Martin said, “We admire his courage, like the courage he showed last week in affirming his belief in marriage equality. That is the kind of courage we expect from our president and that is why we support him.” Martin had announced plans to host the fundraiser long before Obama voiced his support for gay marriage last week.

Tom Williams / Getty Images

George Clooney

George Clooney opened his Los Angeles home for a fundraiser that is being called the largest single-event fundraising opportunity for an individual presidential campaign. The guest list included big names like Robert Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire, Barbra Streisand, and J.J. Abrams. Some 150 A-listers each paid $40,000 to attend, raising $6 million for Obama’s campaign. In the weeks leading up to the event, the campaign also held a raffle for two noncelebrity Obama supporters to win tickets to the party. All people had to do was donate as little as $3 to enter. Those entries raised an additional $9 million. The $15 million total is particularly impressive, because fundraising events of a similar size usually garner about $1 million to $4 million in one evening.

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Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry helped Obama raise a pretty penny in March 2012 at a series of events in Atlanta co-hosted by Perry and the African-American Leadership Council. The day began with an event at a private home that 75 people paid $10,000 each to attend. A larger gala celebration was held at Perry’s Atlanta studio for 1,000 donors, who had paid between $250 and $500 each. That event featured a speech by Obama and a performance by Cee Lo Green. Forty diehard supporters—among them Oprah Winfrey—who had not had enough of Obama by the end of the gala, could pay $35,800 each for a more intimate dinner at Perry’s 30,000-square-foot mansion.

Chris Greenberg / Getty Images

Eva Longoria

We know President Obama thinks about Wall Street and Main Street. But what about Wisteria Lane? He probably thinks about that street much more now, thanks to Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria. The actress hosted a fundraiser for Obama in October 2011 at the Los Angeles home of Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. Ticket prices ranged from $5,000 to $35,800 per plate. “[Obama] speaks to the Latino community because he knows he’s the president of all Americans,” Longoria said during the fundraiser.

Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images

Scarlett Johansson and Anna Wintour

The devil wears ... Obama? In February, Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and actress Scarlett Johansson co-hosted the launch party of Runway to Win, a fundraising initiative. The campaign features 27 different designers who each created low-cost items such as tote bags and T-shirts decorated with Obama images and logos. Designers include Beyoncé and Marc Jacobs. The event took place at the Theory store in New York City, but the clothes are also for sale online. “There is so much at stake in this campaign, 2012 will not be easy,” Johansson said. “We have to fight even harder this time around, and that's where Runway to Win will make a real difference.”